vegan eggnog cocktails

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Tis the season.

Nothing screams the holidays quite like Mariah Cary’s holiday album and eggnog cocktails. Christmas just isn’t Christmas without these two essentials. To be honest, I’m not much of a holiday shopper. My favorite way to celebrate the holidays is through food, good company, and tasty drinks.

Henry isn’t a fan of store bought gifts either. He’s happy just playing in the snow and listening to Mariah Cary with us while we enjoy our cocktails. He’s such a trooper!

This season I was really excited to experiment with a healthier version of my favorite holiday treat. I’ve been a fan of eggnog cocktails ever since I was legal to drink (actually, I had my first eggnog cocktail when I was 18. But who’s counting?) When I told taylor I was going to make an eggless and dairy free version he looked at me like I had totally lost it. I told him to simmer down and that regardless of the outcome there would at least be whiskey. This seemed to make him feel better. Besides, it seems as though I’m not the only crazy one who has tried this eggless version. Just when I thought I was a genius in the kitchen I hopped onto one of my favorite food blogs The Roasted Root to find that Julia had just posted a similar recipe. Great minds think a like! The key to this frothy “eggless” version is the soaked cashews and dates.

What I love about this recipe is that you can also drink it as a morning smoothie. To my surprise, Taylor loved his and we both drank leftover eggnog the next morning (we added a frozen banana and re-blended it.)

A lot of the vegan eggnog recipes I came across online called for using coconut milk. I didn’t go that direction but that could be fun to try as well. Make this recipe your own, however, the soaked cashews and dates are a must.

Turn up your holiday music and whip up a batch of delicious eggnog. Cheers everyone!

Vegan Eggnog Cocktails

Prep Time: 10 mins.
Cook Time: 0 mins.
Serves: 4-6

3 1/2 - 4 cups unsweetened almond milk

1 cup unsalted raw cashews (soaked for at least 2 hours and drained.)

5-6 medjool dates, pitted (soaked for at least 30 mins)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

pinch of ground cloves

1 oz whiskey per glass

Garnish:

Pinch of more nutmeg and cinnamon

Preparation

Drain cashews and dates.

Place all ingredients (except whiskey) into a high speed blender and whirl away until smooth. Add more almond milk if necessary.

Keep eggnog refrigerated until ready to serve.

Pour 1 oz of whiskey into each glass and top with eggnog

Sprinkle each glass with a dash of nutmeg and cinnamon

Notes

Use this recipe as a guide. Adjust measurements and ingredients as necessary.

I was drooling over Julia’s nog last week and now yours looks amazing too! I contemplated making somen but then I got lazy and bought almond nog at the store. I know it’s not near as good as this version. I bet the dates give it a perfectly light sweetness.

I’ve been craving eggnog for a couple of months but didn’t want to consume all the sugar and cream. I whipped up your FABULOUS eggnog this morning and have been drinking it all day….minus the whiskey of course. Who knew that dates and cashews could create such a delicious concoction. Thanks so much for sharing.